Deal Secures Future of Park Road Allotments

Northumberland Estates grants long-term lease for the site

Cllr Salman Shaheen (centre) with allotment holders. Picture: Hounslow Council

March 13, 2026

The future of Park Road Allotments in Isleworth has finally been secured after Hounslow Council signed a long-term lease with Northumberland Estates, ending more than a decade of uncertainty over the historic three-acre site. The agreement returns management of the land to the Council for at least the next 24 years and guarantees that the allotments, first established in 1917, will remain protected for community use.

The new lease means that long-standing plot holders, some of whom have tended their patches for decades, can continue growing fruit and vegetables without fear of eviction. It also allows the Council to restore the site, re-let vacant plots to reduce its waiting list, and safeguard the wildlife that has flourished there. The allotments, designated an Asset of Community Value, are widely recognised as a haven for biodiversity, with mature trees, hedgerows and habitats supporting birds, insects and small mammals.

Park Road Allotments have a long and unusual history. They were originally created when the 7th Duke of Northumberland leased the land to the local authority to help feed wounded soldiers returning from the First World War. For generations, the site has been cherished by local residents, and during the pandemic it became a lifeline for people without gardens who relied on it for exercise, fresh air and a sense of normality.

The previous lease expired in 2015, and the years that followed were marked by concern among plot holders and a determined community campaign to save the site. Northumberland Estates submitted a planning application to build housing on the land, prompting strong opposition from residents, environmental groups and local councillors. The proposal was eventually refused, but the future of the allotments remained uncertain, with campaigners fearing that the land could still be sold or redeveloped.

Groups including the Isleworth Society, local gardeners, environmental activists and ward councillors kept up pressure on both the Council and the landowner, arguing that the allotments were irreplaceable and played a vital role in community wellbeing and urban biodiversity. Their efforts helped keep the issue in the public eye and ensured that negotiations continued.

The Council’s announcement marks the end of that long campaign. Under the new agreement, Northumberland Estates has leased the land back to Hounslow Council, allowing it to remain in community use and giving plot holders the security they have fought for over many years.

The Park Road allotments. Picture: Hounslow Council

Cllr Salman Shaheen, Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Public Spaces, welcomed the deal and praised the Estates for working constructively with the Council. “This historic agreement preserves a site tended by generations of plot holders and loved by the people of Isleworth for over a century,” he said. “As much as we need places to live, we also need quality of life and allotments bring so much joy to so many people. They are a green sanctuary, a little patch of paradise in our urban environment where people can come together to connect with nature, grow healthy food, and work land they can call their own.”

The Council will now begin work to restore the site, improve facilities and bring unused plots back into cultivation.